Ram Madhav unplugged on Rohingya issue

New Delhi: Ram Madhav has dismissed suggestions that the Union government was speaking in different voices on the issue of Rohingya fleeing to India from Myanmar. He said the “human rights concerns of 125 crore Indians” was guiding the government’s policies on the matter. He also drew a line between the Rohingya influx from Myanmar and the granting of citizenship to Chakma and Hajong communities that settled in India in 1964 and 1969. Ram Madhav separated the case of religious&hellip;

New Delhi: Ram Madhav has dismissed suggestions that the Union government was speaking in different voices on the issue of Rohingya fleeing to India from Myanmar.

He said the “human rights concerns of 125 crore Indians” was guiding the government’s policies on the matter.

He also drew a line between the Rohingya influx from Myanmar and the granting of citizenship to Chakma and Hajong communities that settled in India in 1964 and 1969.

Ram Madhav separated the case of religious minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan fleeing to India citing religious persecution being considered for citizenship from the case of the Rohingya, denying that it had anything to do with the latter being largely Muslim.

“There is no difference in the kinds of statement from the government on the issue. Right from the beginning the government has been saying that the Rohingya issue needs to be tackled from the security perspective. There is a case pending at the Supreme Court and the government has already submitted an affidavit there. We have to handle it based on our experience of the last 3-4 years. We need to keep in mind the security concerns coming out of this influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. To those who talk of humanitarian issues, I want to say that for us the humanitarian concerns of 125 crore Indians are very important, their human rights, their life and their security is of paramount importance to us,” he said.

“As far as this issue of sending humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh is concerned, remember the request came from the Bangladesh government. When a neighbouring government, for whatever reasons, seeks our humanitarian support, as a good neighbourly gesture we should do that. One should appreciate this gesture of our government, as sought by the government of Bangladesh,” he said.